Doc Talk 10/04/07

[rskinsfan10]

The bye week is over, so of course our resident "Doc" is ready to talk Burgundy and Gold. Actually, the man is ready to talk Burgundy and Gold all the time. He doesn't need a stinking bye week to recharge his batteries.....

KS- It's been well over a week now, but for many if not most the loss to the Giants still lingers. For starters, give me a general recap of what you thought about the way that game unfolded.

DW- Well, it obviously was a tale of two halves. In the first half, I thought the Skins were well on their way to scoring over thirty points for the game, but again it's all tarnished by a putrid second half performance on both sides of the ball. Where they had been dominate on third down defensively, they gave up way too much. Offensively, they couldn't convert. Drops. Fumbles. Miscues. Excuse the pun, but they allowed a sleeping giant to awake. It's pitiful that it happened that way. You can't go back and change things, but we will never know what would have happened. It might have been the end of Tom Coughlin. It could have just been a great base to build upon, but now you just have to deal with what you have.

KS- Gibbs seemed to imply that the second half futility had more to do with the lack of execution then anything else. Is this putting the blame squarely on the players, when many feel as though the coaches should share in this?

DW- There definitely was a lack of execution. Listen, the other team gets paid also to do a hell of a job as well. We always have to be cognizant of that as much as we may not like to admit it. It's a fact. The other team has goals that it is trying to accomplish. It's just that this team has a tendency to not take advantage of opportunities. The frightening thing is we all hoped and thought that this thing was moving in the right direction. It's not catastrophic by no means, but it is a setback and it has to mentioned. You have a dangerous team in the Lions that are feeling really good about themselves, and there are no cakewalks in this league. This league is what you make of it. It's as wide open as it has ever been. We are going to find out Sunday what this team is truly all about. Not to defend the home turf against the Lions knowing that Philadelphia put up fifty on them, it would be a tremendous setback.

KS- I'm not one to believe that games are won or loss on one play or even one series, but 1st and Goal really stands out from this past game. How do you think that entire situation was managed?

DW- If you look at the film, if Betts makes an outside cut instead of an inside cut on one particular play, he scores. You have to Mathias Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora and those other guys credit. They made some plays. It clearly hadn't been the best of times for them, but man, they locked down. I think we have to give the opponents their due. Their goal was to stop the Skins, and they did it. Now, if Jason throws that pass a little higher to Caveman Sellers, then there is no man in this league that is going to stop him with a full head of steam. It's just not going to happen. They had an opportunity there and they didn't cash in on it. I just don't want to turn this into some thing where with the Skins, it was all self-inflicted wounds. I mean, I give the Giants a lot of credit for manning up with their backs against the wall. Their backs were more then just against the wall, they were inside the drywall, and they get to live for another day. We all saw what happened after that. They fought back, then went out and humiliated the Eagles.. now, the Eagles had some injuries, but so does everyone else. Everybody is going to have injuries in this league. It's on now though. It really is on. The only way you are going to get that nasty taste from the New York game out of your mouth is to get a victory against Detroit.

KS- Much has been made about our $60+ million RB not being in the game at such a crucial time. Al Saunders seemed to indicate that he didn't know where Portis was or why he wasn't in the game. What's up with that?

DW- I can only judge it by the Philadelphia game, when I saw Clinton sprint on the field in a series where Ladell had been in the game, where he ran it in and scored. I have to believe that based on the information that we have received now is that he was hurt. My question is, why not just come out and say it? A player is never going to submit to injury during the game. His pride won't let him, his competitive spirit won't let him, so maybe they didn't know. Maybe only Clinton Portis knew. It's my understanding that he goes when he is ready. I can't imagine why he wouldn't have wanted to be in unless he wasn't feeling well, but again only Clinton and the coaches really know that. It's not like Ladell isn't capable, but if they felt Ladell was better then Clinton, then they wouldn't have paid Ladell the money they are paying him and given Clinton the amount of money he is making. I think that it really obvious there is no 1A or 1B. You are either the starter, and then there is the backup. When the game is on the line, you like to have all of your starters in the ball game. That's just common sense to me, unless he is injured. Now, if he is injured, he is not better then Ladell Betts. I like Betts, and I don't have a problem with him being in the game. I just want the Betts we saw the last eight weeks last season. If Clinton can't go this week, then maybe you will see that. For some reason, the running game that we saw near the end of last season has not manifested itself yet.

KS- Along those lines, do you think that there is a difference in the running philosophy this year, like different plays being called?

DW- I would assume they are the same. Now, I understand that they don't have Thomas and Jansen, but you didn't have Jansen against New Orleans when they ran that dump truck through the Saints. It was just power football running downhill. I think that naturally, you are going to go through an adjustment period. In the second half, they just didn't have enough possessions where they kept the ball long enough to do some of the things I'm sure they would have liked to have done. When you turn the ball over, you are not going to have possessions. When you get a team down on the 1yd line, and you are the Skins, you are the Burgundy and Gold, at home that is something that you would like to think that you would be successful with.

[rskinsfan10]

KS- Last year, there seemed to be somewhat of a power struggle between Gibbs and Saunders in regards to the play calling. Do you get the feeling that it's deja vu all over again this season?

DW- I think Joe has earned the right to change plays that he would like to change, but I also believe that Joe and Al have spent so much time together that they would be on the same page. It's clear that they are different people. I mean, that is why you brought Al in here, because you wanted something different. You wanted to add what Al brings to the table. Well, I don't think that Al will ever be able to do that as long as Joe has a headset on. I don't know why that play didn't go from Al to the QB. With the technology now, I'm still at a loss as to why that didn't happen. Al isn't a rookie. He isn't 27yrs old. I mean, you brought him in here because he is one of the best in the NFL. Again, that's their preference. I can live with any of it. You just have to do what's best, and they clearly think that this is what's best. Only the final record will tell. I know this; I know that 5-11 wasn't the best that they could do last year. That simply didn't cut it. I had hoped that they had worked those things out, and that we had a better approach now. I'm not ready to say that the 2-0 start is trash. They earned that. I'm concerned, but I don't think it's the end of the world. They will prove that to all of us Sunday.

KS- What do you make of the defense in the second half? They appeared to be very passive and nearly not as aggressive as they should have been.

DW- Well, you had some pretty good offensive personnel for New York. I thought that coming in. Manning is throwing the ball really well. Plaxico Burress had a horrible first half. He had some drops. Let's not forget that Shockey dropped one right down the pike, so it could have really been worse then what we saw. They had a number of drops. It was a nail biter because they had a lot of opportunities as well, and you have to pay attention to those things. I thought that we were really in great position to make a play on that ball that went to Plaxico. Carlos Rogers figured it out, but for some reason he turned the wrong way and he couldn't make the play. If you follow the Burgundy and Gold, you always want it to work out the right way, but the other team has players too. Plaxico proved why he is a baller. It's not like he picked up a fumble. He ran a route, he beat two people, and he scored.

KS- Another game has passed, and it appears our buddy Brandon Lloyd is dropping further down the depth chart. I know that we are banged up a bit with Moss and others, but the team went out and signed McCardell this week. Is this situation getting worse in regards to Lloyd?

DW- Look, they know a lot more about Brandon Lloyd then I do. They knew enough about him to pay him $10mil dollars when they didn't have to. Now, I hope that he is just so bad in practice that they just don't feel like they can play him. I really hope it's not personal, because they definitely need some help. If you have a man there and he's not being put on the field because of a lack of effort in practice well...Look, it's their prerogative, they can do what they want to do, but I do know this; if they don't put some NFL caliber WRs out there, their running game is going to be shot. Teams are just going put extra men in the box and dare them to throw, and it seems like it would be a shame to not give Jason all the tools he needs because he has a big time arm. Who knows, maybe they come out against Detroit and throw it all across the field. Now when I say throw it all across the field, that's if Detroit lends the coverages to them that they like. You can't just throw it just because you want to throw. You have to do what you think is going to help you beat a defense. You have to think that with all the hours they put in with all of the brain power that they have, that they can figure this out. Jason Garrett in Dallas is doing this really for the first time with a guy that has only played about 15 games. They seem to have figured it out, and it's not that complicated. They are just throwing it to guys that are wide open. They are winning those match ups. I think that Santana Moss can win those same match ups. I know Cooley can win those same match ups. I think we have to be far more patient then we would like to be, but I don't see any other way around it.

KS- I want to touch briefly on something that you just mentioned. You said that you hoped that it wasn't something personal with Lloyd in regards to his playing time. Perception by many is that this staff will sit you in the name of it being personal.

DW- Oh come on, we've all gone through the LaVar situation. We've seen early on where there seems to be some drama with Springs. There always seems to be something going on, and it happens. Don't think that pro football doesn't have these kind of things going on. It happens with families, it happens in business, it just happens. It happens on all teams. Look at the Raiders. They had Jerry Porter, and they didn't put him on the field. You know that he can play. He went almost a whole year, and they didn't put him on the field because they had a disagreement. Those people are gone now, he's playing and they are winning. I'm sure part of it was on Jerry too, but you are in the problem solving business. You have to get it solved, and that is something that they have to get done. It's not just their fault. I think the player has to hold some of the responsibility in this. If you really love to play, and they gave you money when they didn't have to, then what's the problem? There is always more then what meets the eye, or what meets the press. We can only base out theories on the information that we get. The information that comes out of the Park is so disjointed that you really never feel confident that their intent is to level with you. That's their prerogative, just like it's ours to question it.

KS- The Lions are coming to town sitting at 3-1. They only won three games all of last year. What stands out the most to you in regards to their improvement up to this point?

DW- Really, their QB, their attitude, the fact that they really haven't played great defense. What they did in the 4th Qt against the Bears; now I know that this isn't the Bears from a year ago that went to the Super Bowl, but they still are the Chicago Bears, and the Lions grew up. That was a huge effort. The Bears were holding them down, then just went buck wild. They did this without Calvin Johnson. Now, you look at that. TEs and big WRs have given us the most problems. You see what happened against a big WR last week. We have big safeties. We have to get Fred Smoot off the media circuit and get him on the football field. He's on every interview in town, but he hasn't played yet to the standard that I think that he is capable of. I hope that a focused Fred Smoot will be good news for the secondary.

KS- You are the head coach of the Redskins. What is your game plan heading into Sunday's game?

DW- That's one of those fantasy football questions that is hard to answer. You are a coach, you know that unless you are working with the people on the inside, it's almost impossible to answer. I know that they don't score enough points to beat really good teams. That I know. You then ask why aren't they scoring? Maybe they have put such an emphasis on pass protection in lieu of their injuries that it has affected their passing game. I saw Cooley blocking Strahan. In fact, Strahan didn't beat Todd Wade for that sack, that was against Cooley. I'm pretty sure that is not what they wanted to be in. Maybe they got pressed into that based on the kind of schemes they had called. Listen, if they had won that game, I would have had similar thoughts, but I wouldn't have dissected them they way I do when they lose. That's what happens all the time. They did a lot of those same things in their victories. The same things were happening, but we kind of brushed it off and looked the other way because they won. Both of the games that they won were nail biters. They could have easily lost. If you look at this as a team that could be 0-3, then you see where these concerns are legitimate. By the same token, this team could be 3-0. That's just how the league is. It's the glass half empty, half full. This is a good football team. I like this team, but they aren't good enough to not come out and like their lives are on the line every game. Until they can score more points and be better then they were on third down against New York. It's still early. There are only a few teams in the league that are playing really good football right now. Everybody else, it's just ridiculous what's going on. It has a lot to do with the abbreviated camps, the OTAs, the lack of contact, they've worked hard. They have hit. It wasn't a country club, but it's just not what old school football was designed to be. I don't think that they should have had a rougher camp along with the OTAs. These guys would be worn out. I don't think it's a Skins issue. I think it's something the league has to look into. I just think that it's too much. I think that you have people that aren't as excited about the season as they once were because they are just burned out.